Biography: Willem Tijssen
Willem Tijssen is an “event-engineer” from Hilversum in The Netherlands.
Over the years, Tijssen has been involved with a truly broad range of marketing projects and activities for a wide variety of commercial clients like Swatch International, MTV, Sky Channel, Super Channel (NBC), Nike Europe, Rigid Airship Design, FuelFox, and PerMob Industries. After a first trip to West Africa in 1998, he also specialized himself in trade and business with West Africa. His never ending ambition to understand everything about “the world of his clients and employers” drove him to study: - new technologies - airship technology - and the present history of Africa. To communicate this knowledge efficient and cost effectively, he taught himself how to design and create html Internet Sites, and how to film and edit professional video productions (dvcam) on his computer.
Results and impressions of his work can be found at his websites:
www.eec.cc
www.us-africa.org
www.liberian.org
www.peacecup.org
www.rigidair.com
Through his association with both internationally renowned and local companies Tijssen has learned to communicate effectively across continents and cultures. Willem is a humanist and occupies himself with a broad range of cultural interests and international issues. Qualities such as perseverance and creativity combined with a touch of adventure, and a strong developed social awareness are some of the characteristics that are evident in his work and life. Most of his career Tijssen has been an independent entrepreneur but in all situations he is a team player who loves to work in close harmony with others. He has the ability to work independently with a wide range of Country Offices as well as in a team with staff from diverse national and cultural backgrounds in a productive and mutually supportive environment with the ability to take initiative and work. The lack of an academic background is highly compensated with a wide range of experience in many areas and his unique skills to “restore order in complex chaos”. He is familiar with Research and Project Development as well as analyzing and evaluating event processes and financial mechanisms. Strong analytical and communication skills and good computer skills in Word, Office and Excel to produce reports without secretarial assistance, or design HTML web sites and edit digital video are added value. His open mind and optimistic attitude make Tijssen an ideal problem shooter and team leader. These qualities and skills motivated Swatch in 1992 to assign Tijssen as intermediate between Swatch and the City of Zermatt to save its 10-year celebration, and as result they appointed him as special supervisor for this $6 million event.
In 2000 U.S. clients assigned Tijssen as special consultant for some long-term Worldbank related railroad projects in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia in West Africa. (Due to the 11th September attacks in the USA, these projects have temporarily been postponed). Flexibility with extensive travel and readiness to leave for missions with short notice are no problem whatsoever.
At present Tijssen is part time involved as consultant for PerMob Industries S.A. - a technical research company developing an Electronic Energyzer.
Hilversum: December 2001